Straub guaranteeing safety for local events

Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub said there are no threats to this area in the wake of the bombings in Boston, and not only is he guaranteeing our safety he's willing to back that statement up.

Straub is attending both the Race for the Cure this weekend as well as Bloomsday and said Friday what happened in Boston was an isolated attack. He's confident that with the community's help, his department and other law enforcement agencies can keep the Spokane area safe.

Since the bombing Monday, Straub has been kept in the loop on the unfolding situation in Boston.

"From the time that the original bombing occurred during the marathon we've been in consistent and regular communication with our federal partners," Straub said.

The good news is those real-time intelligence reports from the FBI show what's happened in Boston, will likely stay in Boston.

"We have no specific information that suggests that there is a threat to the state of Washington or to the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area specifically," he said.

Moreover residents in this community haven't forgotten what Kevin Harpham tried to do with his backpack bomb at the Martin Luther King Jr. Unity March in 2011. People are generally more suspicious of unattended packages in big crowds now and, fortunately, we learned that lesson without loss of life.

"You've heard me say this before, if you see something, say something, do something if you see something weird, call the police," Straub said.

That being said, Chief Straub urged people to attend this weekend's Race for the Cure.

"I would encourage people, it's a very important event, it's very important fundraising, to come to the race on Sunday, to come with their families event to enjoy it and be assured of extensive police coverage," he said.

The chief is encouraging the community to attend Bloomsday as well and not give terrorism a victory by living in fear.